We got to visit my aunt, uncle, and their kids in Denver this month. We heard my sister was making the trip to get her teeth worked on (my uncle is a dentist), so we figured we would meet up with them all. Leaving Friday after work from home, we pulled up to their house at 1am. Walking in to the house, we could only hope we were at the right one, as the only address we saw was on a mailbox. The door was unlocked, as we were told it would be, so we took that as a good sign as we searched for the stairs to the basement. In the dark, I couldn't see pictures of them on the wall to confirm the owners, so we headed downstairs and in to the room with a light on, seemingly left for us. I shut the door and noticed "Thomas" penciled in small scribbled letters on the other side, and I knew we had made it.

Waking up early, we planned to spend all the time we could visiting with our family. Cousin Elijah helped (okay, watched) me wake up Kelsey, who I  was excited to see. I cut the boys' hair before Spencer and I got our teeth cleaned. My zero cavity record still stands. Spencer, on the other hand, was a different story. The poor guy was told he needed to cut back on Gatorade - the only thing he drinks besides water, so must be the culprit. Apparently they have a lot of sugar, and drinking it throughout the day leaves it sitting on your teeth until you have a chance to brush them.

After getting back to their house, Spencer took the boys outside for a snowball fight, followed by an indoor lightsaber duel. Cousin Charlotte wanted to play games. She brought out "Operation" and informed me of her rules. After the first round, she instructed me to put the pieces back in their slots for another. She then, however, decided she wanted to play something else. That is, until the boys came over and started playing her game.

It was so nice to visit with Vanessa and JaShon. Talked about our messed up government, and how worse off our family in California is. *hint hint.* Sunday morning, the Hughes family dressed up  so I could take their family pictures. Charlotte insisted Snowflake, their one chicken, be included. We walked around their property, taking pictures on all sides of their house. By the time we made it around, the kids had had enough and were set loose. I got a couple more of JaShon and Vanessa, before going inside. They got ready for church and we prepared to head out, leaving at the same time.

They suggested we visit Garden of the Gods park on our way home, in Colorado Springs. I'm glad we did, as the rock formations were beautiful. There were many rock-climbers too, who we were quite jealous of. After walking around the different loops in the main area, we drove up to see the balanced rock. I pulled out my phone and asked Yelp where we should eat lunch. The Drive diner was highly rated and just around the corner from where we were filling up the gas tank, so we pulled in and ordered some burgers. They were DELICIOUS. The grilled onions made it, and the side of sweet potato fries were a bonus. Content, we made the rest of the trip home, getting in around 8:30pm. Thankful that the Corolla held up.

Garden of the Gods: